Leverage:Twenty Pounds of Crazy
by Gilbert H. Karr
Summary: This piece has an episode tag to The Mile High Job. It deals with the aftermath of the plane's emergency landing, and the budding relationships between members of a relatively new team, who haven't yet learned to trust one another fully. Please read and review. I don't write slash. Rated K plus for possible mild language and adult themes.
1. The Mile High Job, Part 1

**A/N: This piece has an episode tag to the Mile High Job. It deals with the aftermath of the plane's emergency landing, and the emerging relationships between team members who may not fully trust one another yet. There will probably be one more chapter after this one. **

**I don't own Leverage or any of the characters in this story. I write for fun and not for profit. I don't write slash.**

**Reviews really make my day, so please read and review. Thank you. **

**Enjoy the story.**

Parker rose stiffly, shoving the suitcases aside, and stumbled toward the entrance to the plane's cargo hold. She paused before crawling back through, and taking a deep breath, she tried to feign a posture of nonchalance. Her head was pounding, and her vision was a little blurry. Periodic waves of nausea swept over her, and she didn't think there was a place on her body that wasn't banged up, bruised, or otherwise abused. It had taken every bit of the cat-like grace and athleticism she possessed to avoid serious injury. She had lost her comm. in the kerfluffle in the cargo hold.

She stood there until the latest bout of dizziness and nausea passed, and then carefully climbed out of the cargo hold, and exited the plane before someone had a chance to come looking for her. Her breathing was shallow, labored, and every breath hurt. She wanted to go back to her warehouse, and curl up in her bed until it all went away. With luck, the other members of her team would be occupied with the rest of the people on the plane, and wouldn't notice her. She didn't want to take any chances, though. Eliot tended to be much more perceptive about things like this than they thought he was.

As she climbed out of the plane, into the crisp air of the late autumn morning, she felt a bit better. Parker had the rare ability to appear and disappear at will, and she used it now to stay in the background of the scene, and therefore, make herself less noticeable. But she couldn't stay away from the others for too long without drawing attention to herself. She started to walk slowly in their direction, ever so slightly unsteady on her feet. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her from behind, and a voice spoke in her ear, as he spun her around.

"Easy, Parker," Eliot said, his blue eyes appraising her and taking note of her injuries.

"I'm okay," she said, trying to pull out of his grasp, which caused her to stumble and almost fall.

"Keep telling yourself that." With a knowing smirk, he shifted his weight to counterbalance her.

At his expression, she looked away. "Eliot, please, I—" she broke off, almost pleading.

The smirk was still there, but he gazed at Parker, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, his expression grew serious and he said, "Parker, what is it?"

"Eliot, just leave me alone. Please."

"And watch you pass out before you get to the team? Not gonna happen."

She ducked her head, and tried not to let her embarrassment show in her voice. "I just don't—"

Eliot thought he could guess what it was she was having trouble saying. "Listen Parker, there's nothing to be embarrassed by, though I can understand why you might not want the rest of the team to know the extent of your injuries. If you'll allow me to treat you when we get back, I won't tell them anything. The trip ahead won't be any fun for you, though. And if something serious happens, I won't be able to put off the treatment. That's the only deal I'm willing to make."

After a moment, Parker nodded.

Had the circumstances been different, she might have been amused at the protective stance Eliot took up just behind her. He was careful not to touch her, knowing that would raise the team's suspicions, but stayed close enough to catch her if she needed him. By the time they reached the rest of the team, Sophie had somehow acquired a ride for them, in a sedan that would be packed with four extra people. With Eliot's own bruises and Parker's injuries, he knew that the ride back would be very uncomfortable for both of them. He looked it over dubiously.

Sophie smiled apologetically, and said, "I know it's small, but it's the best I could do."

"Drop us where we can rent another, and we'll follow you home. I'm not riding for twelve hours crammed into a tiny backseat, with a bruised knee, a massive headache, and an injured shoulder."

Sophie bit back a smile. That was so like Eliot. He had belly crawled through jungles and sewer lines all over the world in search of terrorists and other subversives, had been tortured and half killed more times than he cared to remember, and yet he couldn't handle a long drive while injured, although, when she stopped to think about it, she really wouldn't want to either. Apparently, Nate wouldn't want to do so either, because he said, "There's an airport about twenty miles from here. They'll have a car rental place. These nice people have agreed to drop us there, so we can both rent one, unless you want to stop somewhere for the night, which is what we plan to do."

Eliot shook his head. "I'd rather get back."

"We'll get there as fast as we can."

Nate had Sophie climb into the front seat, leaving him to crowd into the tiny backseat with Parker and Eliot. Parker winced as she climbed in, but managed to keep from letting out an audible groan, and Eliot made a mental note to look for injuries to her legs when they were alone. He kept up the conversation, occasionally nudging Parker to join in, and watching her closely as he did so. She seemed to be doing all right for the moment, but it was a long drive even to the airport.

Finally, they arrived at the airport, and Eliot looked at Nate.

"You don't need to stay. We'll be right behind you." Nate didn't have to be told twice. After bidding the two younger members of the team to be careful, he and Sophie rented a convertible and set off for home. They would find a hotel somewhere down the road for the night. Eliot rented a rather large SUV. What he really wanted was a truck, but it made more sense in this case to give Parker a place to put her leg up, if she needed to do so.

He picked up a First Aid kit in one of the shops at the airport, and followed Parker closely as she walked outside. He knew she didn't like to be touched, and so he wouldn't help her walk unless there was no choice. When they reached the car, he told Parker to sit in the back, while he completed the inspection with the desk agent. Once they were finished, and the car was his, he opened the back hatch and had Parker get in and stretch out her leg. Climbing in beside her, he shut the hatch behind him so they didn't raise questions with the staff or passersby. Looking her in the eyes, and holding up two fingers, he asked, "Parker, how many fingers am I holding up." He knew before she answered that her vision was fuzzy.

She squinted to try to see them. "Three?"

He didn't say anything, but drew a penlight from his pocket and shined it back and forth in her eyes. She didn't like that at all, and tried to push his hands away. He caught the one closest to her and she started to hit him with the other, until he glared at her, as if to say, _Hit me and you'll wish you hadn't. _She let her other hand drop back down by her side, and a moment later, he finished, and put the light back in his pocket.

"Looks like you have a concussion, which means you're gonna have to move to the front seat, so I can keep an eye on you. Before you move, I need to look at your leg."

"Uh uh," she said, shaking her head. Eliot looked at her, and it was the first time she had ever truly seen him look hurt about anything. She liked Eliot and she didn't want to hurt him, but from long experience, she knew she couldn't trust people when she was hurt. When people knew you were hurt, they tried to take things away from you, or take advantage of the situation, thinking you couldn't fight back.

Eliot thought he read her expression pretty accurately. She didn't trust him. He supposed he could understand why, but it still hurt. She had to know by now that his job was to protect the team, and that he'd never hurt her. Shaking his head, he said, "I know we've only done eight jobs together at this point, and that you don't trust people easily, but I thought you'd have figured out by now that I'd never hurt you, or anybody else on the team." With those words, he opened the hatch and climbed out, slamming it shut behind him. He walked around the car, digging his keys out of his pocket as he did so. Climbing into the front seat, he started the engine without a word. It was going to be a long, silent trip back.


	2. The Mile High Job, Part 2

**Here's the new chapter. Please read and review. I don't write slash. **

**I don't own Leverage or any of the characters. I write for fun and make no profit.**

**Chapter 2**

The hurt in his voice made Parker want to cry, but she was determined not to give him the satisfaction. She was also determined not to sit in the front seat, so she limped around to the back, stretching her leg out in front of her, and feeling worse the longer they were in the car. She knew she would have to talk to Eliot later on, she knew she didn't want to go to the hospital, and she also knew that as far as Eliot was concerned, she could either go to the hospital or allow him to treat her—neither being an option that appealed to her.

They had been on the road for about an hour and a half when a wave of nausea washed over her that was worse than the last ones had been. She didn't want to say anything to Eliot, especially considering the way he had taken what she said before, but she thought she knew how he would react if she threw up in the car. "E-Eliot," she said, voice slightly panicked. "Pull over."

He glanced in the rearview mirror at the young blonde in the seat behind him, took in her color and the panic in her voice, and eased the SUV over onto the shoulder of the road. Then, as she opened the door, he was there, helping her get out of the car, and holding her hair while she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the grass. When she was finished, her breathing was labored, and she was close to hyperventilating from the pain she was in.

He scooped her up, ignoring her attempts to get down, and set her down in the back of the SUV. Once again, he climbed in behind her and closed the hatch. When she glanced up, he was staring at her, and there was something in his gaze that held hers, so she couldn't look away.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm all right."

"Except for the vomiting and the fact that you can barely breathe, you mean?"

She flashed him a brief grin. "There is that."

"We already know you have a concussion, and the vomiting proves it. The labored breathing may be an indicator of broken ribs that have punctured a lung. Both of those are life threatening conditions, and we have at least another six to eight hours of driving ahead of us. So now, I am no longer giving you a choice. You are going to sit here and allow me to treat your injuries. You can be angry at me for that if you wish, but that won't change anything. If you try to fight me on this, I'll knock your ass out."

She gave a single nod, and then folded back in on herself. His hands were gentle as he gently manipulated her knee, grimacing inwardly at the red, angry look to it, and the swelling. She was going to find it difficult to walk for the next few days. He wrapped it with an ace bandage, as that was all he had, and then he fished around for an ice-pack. The ice pack that came in the first aid kit from the airport store was woefully inadequate, as it was too small to cover any but the very top of her knee.

"As soon as we find somewhere to do it, I'll stop and get you some more ice for your knee," he said quietly.

Parker nodded. She felt compelled to say something. "Thank you," she said.

He knew she likely wouldn't like this next part, but there was nothing to be done about it. He had to do it.

"Parker, I have to cut your dress off. We've got to look at your ribs."

"We don't have any luggage. If you cut it off, I won't have anything to wear."

"We'll figure something out." Gently he took the scissors and cut her dress down the middle, and then helped her sit up and began to gently probe her ribs. When she shrank away from him, he wasn't sure whether she was in pain, or afraid of him.

"That hurt?"

She nodded, and he was surprised to see how small she looked. He continued probing, knowing he had to make sure that there weren't any internal injuries, and also that she didn't have a punctured lung. When he was as sure as he could be with the equipment he had, he took the other elastic bandage from the first aid kit and began to gently wrap her ribs. When that was done, she crawled quickly past Eliot to the edge of the SUV and hit the latch. The door flew up and she retched in the parking lot.

Realizing at the last moment what she was doing, he swept her hair back and held it off of her face. With the other hand, he supported her back, tracing small patterns between her shoulder blades as he did so. To Parker, it was odd, but somehow…comforting. He let go as soon as she was done, and helped her scoot back, so she wouldn't injure her knee any more than she already had. She hissed with pain as she slid back, against the front seat, drawing the dress, which now looked a bit like a robe, around her.

She yawned and leaned her head back, eyes slipping closed. "No, Parker," he ordered. "No sleeping." He gently slapped her cheek.

She opened her eyes. "So sleepy."

"That would be the concussion, darlin'. Need you to stay with me, yeah?"

"I'll try."

"I'm gonna put you in the front seat, so I can keep an eye on you. We'll get you some pain meds as soon as we can." With that, he gently picked her up and carried her around to the side, where he deposited her gently into the front passenger seat, buckling her in before climbing into the driver's seat.

Glancing over at the lithe blonde, who was once again on the verge of falling asleep, he said, "Parker, talk to me about your newest rig."

"What do you want to know?" she asked, trying and not succeeding to stifle a yawn.

"I want to know all about it. What kind of rope is it?"

"Carbon Fiber with a steel cable core."

"Walk me through choosing a rigging and jumping off a building," he requested, casting around for something that would keep her talking, and therefore alert for a period of time. She warbled on about it for about fifteen minutes, then she suddenly stopped, and Eliot thought she had fallen asleep. He glanced over at her to see if he needed to pull over and wake her up. She was staring straight ahead with a stricken expression on her face. He couldn't tell if she was having trouble breathing or had something she wanted to say, or if it was something else all together.


	3. The Mile High Job, Part 3

**A/N: I don't own Leverage or any of the characters therein. I write for fun and make no profit. I don't write slash. **

**Here's Chapter 3. I hope you all are enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it for you. **

**Reviews make my day, so please keep them coming. Thank you.**

**Chapter 3**

She felt his eyes on her, but didn't say anything. Finally he asked, "What's wrong, Parker?"

"Nothing."

"Are we really gonna do this again, little one?"

She turned and looked out the window for a long time. Finally, he spoke again. "Whatever it is, you can tell me, Parker."

She looked back over at him. He didn't want to spook her, and so, he didn't take his eyes off the road, but continued staring straight ahead.

"I know. Not just yet." She spoke so softly that he could barely hear her.

"When are you going to start trusting me?" His voice was laced with frustration.

"Are you good at waiting? Most men aren't. If you can wait a little longer, I will answer your question."

"Take as long as you need, darlin'." At least she told him that much this time.

Eliot didn't know much about where they were, but he knew Interstates, and he knew when he reached a more populated area, with more traffic, he was probably closer to a city or town of sufficient size to have a drugstore. He pulled off onto the exit ramp. He had seen the sign for a drugstore standing by the side of the highway, and he found the store itself in a small strip mall as he turned off of the highway.

"Stay here, and don't go to sleep. I'll be right back."

She grimaced with the pain. "I don't think you have to worry about me going to sleep." He had parked on the far back side of the strip mall, and slipped in through the back door of the store. He pulled the fire alarm and ducked into the men's restroom, listening. When he had determined that most of the people in the store were headed for the front doors, he stalked into the pharmacy. A moment later, shopping bag in hand, he joined the last of the customers making their way out of the building. When the pharmacist came back into the building, she would find some supplies missing, and the cash to cover their costs on the counter. He smiled to himself at that thought. Walking down the sidewalk that ran beside the building, he climbed into the driver's seat of the truck, removing his black work gloves as he did so. Backing out, he pulled back onto the road, and drove for another half hour before pulling into a rest area. He checked his watch. It had been about four hours since that plane landed on the highway.

"Parker, look at me." Parker looked at Eliot and he shone the penlight in her eyes once again. She didn't like it, but was able to follow it better than she had been before. When he held up four fingers, she was able to see all four of them as well. "How's your head?" he asked.

She didn't answer.

"Parker," he prodded. "Answer me. And I want the truth."

"It feels like someone's pounding away with a jackhammer."

"Well, your pupils are more responsive and your vision is clearer." He put his head close to her chest, feeling her breath on his face. "Your breathing doesn't seem as labored as it was before. I got you a couple of ice packs and some pain meds."

"I don't take drugs."

"You'll take these. They'll help you feel better, sweetheart."

She grimaced and shook her head.

Eliot saw her and said, "We're not doing this again, Parker. I told you before—you can fight me, but I'm still going to treat you. You can make it easy on yourself and sit back and accept the treatment, and it'll be over before you know it, or you can choose to fight it, and prolong the inevitable."

She frowned and shot him a look that plainly asked why he cared so much.

He said, "You're hurting and you're under my care. I'm not just gonna sit back and let it happen."

A second later, he had a syringe in his hand, and she didn't know where it came from. He took the cap off. When she saw it, she panicked and started to fight. Eliot was physically much stronger, but she was adept at both wiggling out of tight spaces and taking care of herself. She wiggled out through the door she had just opened and started limping toward the building. A moment later, Eliot was out, too, and he followed a little ways behind, not wanting to spook her and trying to get his frustration under control. Grinning triumphantly, she limped into the women's restroom, fairly sure he wouldn't follow her there, and half expecting him to do so.

When he saw where she was going, he didn't even stop. Instead, he walked around to the side of the building, and leaned against the brown brick wall, in an alcove, catching his breath. A moment later, the cover popped off of an air vent, and she slipped stealthily to the ground right in front of him. Quick as lightning a hand shot out and grasped both of hers, pinning them behind her. Another hand clapped over her mouth, and she heard a hiss in her ear.

"It's safe for you to sleep now, so if you scream, I'll knock you out right here. Go."

With a scowl, Parker went, knowing that Eliot wasn't happy, and fairly sure he'd make good on his threat. She half expected him to pin her up against the car and inject her, but he didn't. He simply opened the back passenger door and let her climb in. He sat staring at her for a long time, so long in fact that she began to feel uncomfortable. She wouldn't look up, but just sat, staring at her hands.

Finally, Eliot asked, "Are you gonna tell me what that was all about?"

"I don't like drugs," she said, sounding as though she was about to cry. "They take away my control. Whenever needles were involved in the past, it's always ended badly."

Eliot closed his eyes for a moment, not wanting to consider the true implications of what Parker was saying because he knew if he did, he was likely to become very angry very quickly, and it wouldn't be good for Parker to see that in her condition. When he had willed himself back to complete control, he opened his eyes and reached out for one of her hands, saying, "Don't hit me Parker" at the same time. He just sat there for a good five minutes, stroking her hand, and speaking softly to her, much like one would speak to a high strung thoroughbred.

Gently he said, "If you keep fighting like this, you're going to injure yourself even more. The morphine I'm going to give you will just get rid of the pain, and you might fall asleep, but that's all that's going to happen. I just want to help you stop hurting, Parker. Okay?"

She nodded, swiping at the tears in her eyes with her hand. "Okay," she said, very softly.

"You can trust me, Parker. I promise. Ready?"

Again she nodded, and this time, when he withdrew the syringe from his belt loops, she didn't try to move away. He was finished a moment later, and helping her stretch out across the back seats, and she was asleep almost as soon as they were finished.

Eliot moved back to the passenger seat and started driving again, knowing he'd need to wake her again in a couple of hours to check on her, but content that he'd finally gotten her to trust him enough to let him take the pain away. He hummed a tune as he pulled back out onto the Interstate.


	4. The Mile High Job, Part 4

**A/N: Here's Chapter 4. It's a little shorter than normal, but that's how it turned out. There's probably one more chapter after this one, maybe two. Not more than two. :-)**

**Please read and review. This has been a blast to write, though different than my normal stuff, and I'm dying to know what you think. :-)**

**I don't own Leverage or any of the characters involved. I write for fun and not for profit. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 4**

Two hours later, Parker woke up with a bad headache, and found herself very thirsty. Every cut and bruise she had throbbed as though it had a life of its own, and she groaned as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Looking in the rearview mirror, Eliot saw that she was awake.

"Hey. We're almost back to Oregon. How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok."

"Are you sure? Your eyes are squinty like your head hurts, and you're moving stiffly like you are sore. Wanna try again?"

"All right. I'm still sore."

"That wasn't so hard, was it? I don't understand why you still think you have to lie to me."

"I don't want any more morphine."

"I think you need some, but I can't give you more yet, anyway. It's too soon. We'll talk about it when we get back to Portland. You're probably still sleepy. Why don't you rest a while longer?"

"I don't want to rest. I feel like I've slept all day," she said, trying a bit unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. Her eyes slipped closed and her speech cut off mid sentence, and a moment later, Eliot heard a gentle snore from the backseat. He smiled to himself.

(0o0)

When she woke up again, they were stopped, and for a moment, she thought they were home. But then, why were they still in the car? She knew Eliot would either wake her when they got to the offices, or carry her inside and lay her down in the treatment room he had set up and stocked in Nate's apartment. Sitting up and stretching, she looked out the window, only to find that Eliot had pulled over onto the shoulder of an unfamiliar road. She looked out the forward windshield, only to see an empty road stretching out before her, and pasture land as far as the eye could see. _Where were they? And why had they stopped? _

She looked out of the other windows in turn, and finally found Eliot on the other side of the car, standing out in the grass, bent double, his back to her. She was stiff as she slid over to the passenger side of the backseat, and opened the car door. It felt good to stretch her legs, even if her whole body did still hurt.

Parker knew better than to approach Eliot without warning, so as she drew closer, she called out, "Eliot? What's wrong?"

"Everything's fine, Darlin'. Sorry I woke you. Get back in the car. I'll be there in a minute." He said all of this without straightening up and without turning around. His voice was steady, if slightly strained, so Parker walked back to the car. She didn't get back in, though, as she was enjoying the feeling of being up and about, and in the fresh air. Instead, she leaned against the car, sensing that Eliot wanted privacy for whatever it was he was doing, and she looked out in the other direction, over the farmland, lost in thought.

She started as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Eliot smiled at her as she whipped around, and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, but why did we stop?"

"I wanted to check on you, and I don't usually eat the kind of food we've been eating on this trip, and it was making me feel sick."

Parker nodded. She was used to junk food, but she knew Eliot liked to eat better. She could understand how the junk might be getting to him. Smiling, he opened the door for her and she climbed back in the SUV. He climbed in next to her, and she looked at him quizzically.

"I told you I wanted to check on you." He did another neuro check, though he knew she had slept without issue. He was pleased to see that her pupils were almost back to normal, and he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm still in pain, but I'll survive."

As he looked at her, he saw that she was shaking. It was slight, and he could tell she was trying not to let it show. She probably could have hidden it from most people, but the training he had received both officially and unofficially, made him more observant of such things than others usually were.

"Parker, you're shaking." He put both his hands on the woman's shoulders, and squeezed gently. He wondered whether she was having some sort of allergic reaction to the morphine, though he was inclined to think something like that would have started before now. It had to be the pain. "If your pain is this bad, we need to give you some more morphine," he said gently, tucking a lock of wayward hair behind her ear.

"Would it do any good for me to say no?"

"It's up to you. I ain't gonna make you do anything you really don't wanna do, unless it becomes an emergency situation, but there's no reason for you to have to endure this kind of pain. Especially if we can stop it."

She was silent for a long time, standing rigidly still so as not to cause herself any more pain, and refusing to look at him. Finally, she nodded once and said, very softly, "Okay."

"Okay," he said, smiling at her, "Good."

She stretched out on the backseat and got comfortable. As he injected her, Parker thought about how kind he was being to her. Those hands that caused so much pain and destruction to so many other people were gently rubbing her neck and shoulders, and they sat like that until she faded off to sleep. As the darkness reached out for her, she thought she had finally found someone she could trust with anything. It was a strange feeling, but also strangely comforting.

(0o0)

After she was asleep, he got out of the car and moved back around to the front driver's seat, massaging his forehead as he did so. The cut above his eye was throbbing, and his head felt like it was about to explode, breaking the skull into a million tiny pieces along with it. According to the maps he had consulted and the GPS on his phone, they were about two hours outside of Portland. They would be home soon. He was happy about that. It had been an interminably long day, and he was ready to be back in familiar territory, to cook and eat real food again, to treat the cut above his eye, and then to sleep and more or less put this day behind him. But, he was also filled with a strange sense of pride at winning Parker's trust. Women like that weren't easily swayed, and he didn't trust easily himself, so he could imagine how hard it was for Parker to let her guard down enough to trust him. It was a big step for her, and he was proud of her for taking it, and more than a little pleased that she had decided to take it for him.


	5. The Mile High Job, Part 5

**A/N: Here's what is, for now, the final chapter of this story. I may add other chapters to cover the interaction between Parker and Eliot in other episodes, but I haven't decided yet. Please feel free to let me know what you think.**

**I don't own Leverage or any of the characters involved. I write for fun and not for profit. **

**Please read and review. Reviews really make my day. Thank you. Hope you enjoy the story as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you. **

**Chapter 5**

As they traveled, Parker slept on, and Eliot hummed a little tune. They were very close to Los Angeles. A bolt of pain shot through his skull, and his vision blurred for a moment. He blinked to try to get his eyes to focus again. He shook his head. When his vision cleared, he increased his speed, wanting to get to the offices as quickly as possible.

His vision blurred again, and another jolt of pain shot through his skull. His vision didn't really clear this time, though it got a bit better as he rubbed at his eyes. The apartment Eliot kept in the city was closer than the offices, so that was where he went. He pulled into the parking lot, parked the truck, and just sat, trying to clear his vision.

Parker started to wake up when the car stopped moving. She sat up and stretched, a full body stretch.

"Eliot?" she asked, covering a yawn with her hand. She sat up and looked out the window. "Where are we?"

"We're at my apartment. It was closer than the offices." His voice was strained, and she looked at him strangely.

"Eliot, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need a minute."

"Why did you come here instead of going to the office?" He didn't answer. "Eliot?"

"Leave it, Parker. I just need a minute."

"Oh my God. Really? Why did I ever think I could trust you?"

With a horrified look on her face, she opened the car door and got out, starting to walk away from the car.

With a growl, Eliot got out of the car, and walked around toward Parker. When he got close, he reached out for her, and she backed up. He stopped, sensing something had happened and not wanting to spook her.

"Parker?" he questioned.

"I was really starting to think I could trust you. Then, you bring me HERE?" She practically yelled the last word at him.

"Parker, why do you think I brought you here?"

"What reason does a man usually bring a woman to his apartment?" _Shit. That thought hadn't occurred to him, nor had it occurred to him that she would think that way. Parker seemed so innocent, at times, but then, from comments she had made, he knew she couldn't be completely ignorant of the ways of human relations. _

Eliot wanted to laugh, but he knew she wouldn't understand that, so he bit back the urge, and said, "Parker, it's nothing like that."

"Then tell me why we're here."

Eliot hesitated, not wishing to show weakness in front of her, but he knew he had to be honest with her. The trust he was starting to build with her was in danger of being destroyed, and he had the feeling that if it was, something delicate and beautiful would be lost, possibly forever. He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders, and this time, she didn't pull away.

"We're here because I couldn't go any further. My vision was getting blurry, and my head feels like it's going to explode." He saw her staring at him, and said, "After effects of the fight with Erlick. I need to rest awhile before I take you back to the office."

"All you had to do was wake me up. I could've driven to the office."

"I thought you might be too sleepy still to drive." He wasn't sure she believed him, but at the moment, the concussion he suspected he had was making him too sick to care. He took the keys out of the ignition, and handed them to her. "Parker, if you want to drive yourself back to the offices, fine. I'm going inside." With those words, he got out of the car and started walking toward the building. Parker watched him for about two seconds, but when he stumbled slightly, she walked faster to catch up with him, and slipped his arm across her shoulder, supporting some of his weight.

"Which floor?" she asked, as they gained the lobby of the building.

"Fourth. Four twelve."

She knew that neither of them were in any condition to try traversing stairs, so she guided him into the elevator and then, when it reached the correct floor, she guided him out and down the hall to his apartment.

"Keys?"

He fished in his pocket and handed them to her. Parker unlocked the door, and deposited Eliot on the sofa.

"First Aid Kit?"  
>"Medicine cabinet. Bathroom."<p>

Parker disappeared for a moment, and came back with a huge first aid kit. She unzipped it and set it open on the floor beneath her. She set out alcohol, gauze pads, and some bandages. Eliot smiled at her, and said, "I can take it from here."

"You took care of me. Let me take care of you." Eliot wasn't sure that was a good idea, but he was sure saying so wouldn't be a good thing, if he wanted to keep Parker's trust. So, he just sat quietly, and let Parker take care of him.

She screwed the cap off of the alcohol, and poured some of it onto one of the gauze pads, and dabbed at the cut above his eye. He bit back the hiss that wanted to escape from him, and concentrated on staying still.

"Eliot, this cut is deep. I think you may need stitches."

"There are supplies in the kit for you to stitch it up."

"What? I've never done that before. Well, only to myself, and I'm not very good at it."

"Listen Parker, you can do this. I can talk you through it." He put a hand on hers, and looked her in the eye. "You can do this." She nodded.

Eliot leaned forward, and began to tell her which supplies she needed. He held himself rigid and wouldn't show that it hurt when she started to stitch it. A few minutes later, she had a row of neat stitches. She gave him a handheld mirror, and smiled as he praised her work. She placed a bandage on the cut, and then looked at him.

"Do you want some pain medicine?"

"No. It'll make me sleep, and until I know what's going on with my headache, I don't need to sleep right now. I think it's probably just the adrenaline that kept it from hurting before, and now I'm feeling it, but we need to be sure."

"So what's next?"

"You can sit here and talk to me. Help me stay awake."

"Okay."

They sat and talked into the wee hours of the morning. Parker got hungry at one point, and they ended up with popcorn for dinner, but by the standards of the rest of the food eaten on this trip, it wasn't too bad.

Around two o'clock in the morning, Eliot drifted off to sleep, unable to keep himself awake any more. Parker checked her watch. She knew that after six hours, he was able to sleep, and six hours had just passed, so she simply rose and spread a blanket over him.

(0o0)

Very early the next morning, Eliot woke up to find himself covered with a blanket, and Parker passed out on the other sofa, sleeping soundly. His headache was gone, and he felt pretty good, though his forehead was throbbing. He went into the bathroom, where Parker had returned the first aid kit, and rooted around in it until he found the bottle he wanted. He shook two of the pills out in his hand, and dry swallowed them. Then he showered and changed, and padded into the kitchen. Soon, he had chocolate chip pancakes going on the stove. When they were done, he poured juice into two glasses and coffee into two mugs, and put everything on a large tray. Then he carried it into the living room.

Parker's sofa was empty when he got there, and her blanket was folded neatly on the back of the sofa. He heard the water running, and a moment later, she came back in wearing a pair of his sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt. She saw him looking at her, and said, "I hope you don't mind. I found these in the linen closet, and you DID cut my dress off." Eliot smiled, amused at how cute she looked in his clothes, though she was practically swimming in them.

"Breakfast is ready," he said, indicating her plate. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she started to eat.

"These are delicious," she said, around a mouthful of food. When they had both eaten their fill, Eliot stacked the plates back on the tray, and looked at Parker.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. My body still hurts, but I'm much better than I was."

"Well, I brought you these." He handed her the two pills. "Your pain should be better now, so these should do it. They won't make you sleepy."

"I was serious when I said I don't take drugs."

"I know you were, and I know the reasoning behind it, but there's nothing wrong with taking something when you are in pain. So long as it doesn't become a normal, everyday thing. And as long as you're here with me, I won't let that happen. These aren't addictive anyway. I took two of these before I took a shower. I'll leave these here, in case you change your mind."

He rose and took the tray to the kitchen, rinsing their plates and cups and depositing them in the dishwasher. When he got back, he was pleased to see that the pills were gone.

"Eliot," she said, gazing at him with a look he couldn't quite read. "I'm sorry I misunderstood why we came here, and I know I've been a pain on this trip. Thank you for taking such good care of me, and for being so patient with me. I really appreciate it."

"My pleasure darlin'. I'm assuming you'll want to go by your place to change before we check in at the office. We should leave soon if you do. Nate and Sophie are catching a flight any minute now, and they'll be here in a couple of hours."

"Yes, please."

"All right. Your place it is. Let's go."


	6. The Tap Out Job, Part 1

**A/N: As requested, here's the next chapter. The next chapters deal with the Tap Out Job, and the aftermath of what the team went through in Nebraska. **

**I don't own Leverage. I write for fun and not for profit. **

**I hope you enjoy this next part of the story, and I hope you'll let me know what you think. Thank you for reading. **

**Chapter 6**

_The Tap Out Job: Part 1_

Parker was standing off in the corner of the gym, watching Eliot as he sat in one of the chairs in the front row of the audience seats, catching his breath. The fight with Tank had just ended, and he had taken a pounding. Judging by the looks of his eye, Eliot was working on a pretty good shiner. His hair hung in wet ringlets in front of his face, and when he looked up, two startling blue eyes met hers and he smiled at her.

A half hour later, they had wrapped up everything and were getting ready to head out. Parker moved over and stood next to him. "Are you okay, Eliot?" she whispered. His eye had swollen until it was almost totally swollen closed, and it looked painful. She was concerned.

"Fine," he whispered back, flashing her his sweet smile. He held the cords on one side of the boxing ring together, so that she and Sophie could step through them, and then he stepped through behind them. The Howorths were exploring their new gym, Rucker had cleared out, and the doctor had just sent Tank off in an ambulance to be checked out at the local community hospital.

The team headed out to the parking lot and climbed into Lucille, with Nate behind the wheel. Eliot climbed into the back, leaning up against one side wall of the van, stretching his legs out in front of him, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He felt a sharp pain in his ribs, and opened his eyes to find Parker staring at him.

"Don't close your eyes. You don't want to sleep until we know whether you have a concussion."

"Parker, I'm not sleeping," he growled, in annoyance.

"Then don't close your eyes," she hissed.

Ten minutes later, Eliot was surprised when the van screeched to a stop. His heart skipped a beat at the anticipated danger and he said, "Nate, what's wrong? Why did we stop?"

"Nothing's wrong, Eliot. The ring doctor, Johnny, wanted us to meet him here. I'm not sure why. Said he had something to show us." Eliot nodded. He really wanted to go home and sink down onto a comfortable sofa somewhere, with an ice pack and some moderately strong pain meds, but since Nebraska was something like a 24 hour drive from Boston, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Parker opened the back van doors, and poked Eliot. When he didn't respond, she tugged on his arm. With a frustrated grunt, he moved to the edge of the van and stepped out carefully. Eliot swayed slightly as his vision suddenly went blurry, but he forced himself steady. He concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, and not embarrassing himself by hitting the asphalt of the parking lot before he made it into the building under his own power. Later, he blamed that as the reason he didn't see where they were going until he got there.

Johnny met them right inside the door, and led them down a long hallway. As they walked, Eliot took in the flat fluorescent lighting overhead and the utilitarian furnishings, and he started to get the idea that they were in some sort of government building. His brain was refusing to process exactly where they were, but a moment later, when they reached their destination, and the door opened, and he smelled the sharp, stringent smell of antiseptic cleanser, he realized he was in a hospital. He eyed Nate with a look the older man couldn't read, but one that Nate nonetheless found mildly frightening.

"Nate," he growled, "why are we in a hospital?"

Parker stepped in front of him, and stopped, forcing him to stop as well. She put both hands on the side of his face and said, "we're in a hospital because you're injured and the doctor said you need a CT scan. As members of the same team, we get to take care of you when you're sick, too, just like you take care of us. Get used to it, Sparky," she said, patting his head slowly, which made him feel a little bit like somebody's pet dog.

_Sparky!? Why Sparky? _ He made a mental note to disabuse Parker of the notion that he would tolerate nicknames, and especially one like Sparky. Unfortunately, names like that tended to stick, and he suddenly had visions of the whole team calling him Sparky. He felt a growl rising in his throat, but he tucked it away carefully, and didn't let it out, a little afraid that his head would fall off if he growled just now.

If he was honest with himself, he knew they meant well, but he hated hospitals. They reminded him too much of the various torture chambers he had inhabited at sites around the world. For the same reasons, he hated the thought of being strapped down, poked and prodded, and shoved inside a giant tin can. He would probably cooperate though, as fighting required more energy than he found himself able to muster at the moment. Besides, they wouldn't understand.

He stripped himself of anything metal, removing his watch and handing it to Nate. He removed his belt and steel toed work boots, and placed them on the counter and floor, respectively. Finally, he removed his button up shirt, but left the tank top he was wearing underneath on. He sat down on the rolling table, and Johnny moved up next to him, injecting him with contrast dye, and helping him lie down. Johnny escorted the team out of the room, and led them into a small chamber with a window, where the doctors waited and watched while the test was going on.

The table he was lying on quickly passed through the scanning chamber, and then he was drawn in on a slower pass.

"Hold your breath for a moment," Johnny said, through the microphone.

Eliot did so, and a minute later, Johnny told him he could breathe again. Eight minutes after the test started, it was finished.

A moment later, the doctor came back into the room, and said, "You're a mighty lucky young man. You have a mild concussion, but you're lucky it isn't worse after the pounding you took. Your friends want to see you."

"What aren't you saying, Doctor?" Eliot could tell that Johnny wanted to say something else, and wasn't comfortable saying so.

"It's really none of my business, and maybe I shouldn't say anything. But, you helped my cousin and his son, so I hope you'll take this in the spirit it is intended."

Eliot nodded.

"I got the idea that you weren't happy about being brought here. I hope you aren't angry at your Mister Ford. This was my idea. You were looking pretty rough at the gym, and we were worried that it might be worse than it looked. I convinced him to bring you here so we could check it out before you got back on the road, and possibly got into trouble in unfamiliar territory." He looked directly at Eliot now, and his eyes were serious. "They're worried about you. This is what you do. They understand that, on the surface, but they don't REALLY understand it. And it scares them. They feel helpless, and that scares them more. They know they can't protect you, not the way you protect them, and that scares them most of all. They need to feel like they have some control over your safety, too."

"Those guys? No. We just work together. We're a good team. That's all."

"That's not quite all. At least, there's the potential for more."

"Where are you going with this?"

"You should let them care for you. At times like this—when you're hurt, I mean."

"I've taken care of myself for a long time, Doctor."

"I know. Just a thought."

Eliot nodded, but didn't say anything. After another moment, Johnny said, "I'll send the team back in."

They all filed in together, and Eliot took it in turns to tease Parker and Hardison relentlessly, as he re-dressed and got ready to leave the doctor's office. The sardonic sarcasm that was a cornerstone of his personality shone through, and by the time they had made it out to the van, he had all of them laughing easily.


	7. The Tap Out Job, Part 2

**Chapter 7**

Nate drove Hardison's van back to the hotel. They would spend one more night there, and then drive back to Boston tomorrow. At this point, they all just wanted to go to bed. When they got back to the hotel, they split up and headed toward their rooms. Often, they would hang out together after a job was done, and they usually rented a suite or two, with individual bedrooms and a communal living area. In this particular town, as small as it was, there were no hotels available with suites, so they each had their own room. Eliot couldn't say he was sorry for that in this case. More than anything else right now, he wanted a hot shower, a clean pair of sweats, and a place to stretch out that wouldn't aggravate his injuries.

He opened the door to his room and moved straight through the room and into the bathroom, where he turned the shower on and climbed inside. He just stood and let the water pour over sore muscles, and he felt himself breathing deeply as the tightly strung coil inside him started to relax. He washed his hair, and then himself. When he was finished, he shut off the water, got out, and wrapped himself in a towel. He walked out into the bedroom and couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He put on the complimentary robe the hotel provided, and stretched out on the bed. He leaned back against the headboard and started to close his eyes. It was then that he saw her there. Parker was sitting cross-legged on top of the hotel dresser.

"Parker," he growled. "What are you doing?"

"I came to check on you. The doctor said you have a concussion, so it isn't safe for you to sleep. Right?"

"I don't plan to sleep, Parker."

"Shouldn't somebody be here in case you need something?"

"I've taken care of myself for a long time, sweetheart."

"You've taken care of me, too. I'd like to be able to return the favor."

"So you sneak into my room and wait for me to get out of the shower?" Eliot shook his head. "There's something wrong with you."

Parker's face fell, and Eliot felt a pang of regret. He realized in that moment how much it meant to Parker that he had taken care of her before, though they had never spoken of it, and he wished he could take it back, but he knew Parker wouldn't buy it. He cast around for something to say to change the subject. Before he could say anything, she did.

"A lot of people say that. You aren't the first. Why does everybody have to remind me that I'm different from everyone else." Eliot winced at how small she sounded, and the misery in her voice. He hated that he had made her feel that way. This was Parker. _Parker._ A woman who just happened to be one of the most dangerous people on the planet, and a girl who had just started to learn to trust him.

He cast around for something to say to change the subject. "It's late, and I was just thinking about ordering pizza from an all night pizza joint, and watching a little tv—maybe find a game or something. I would welcome some company."

Parker smiled her sweet smile, and stretching like a cat, she climbed down from her perch on the dresser, and threw herself on one side of the bed beside him, hugging a pillow, and propping herself on up on several others. She picked up the remote control and scrolled through the channels, looking for something to watch while Eliot used the phone to place an order for pizza. He opened the room's small refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. Twisting the cap off, he drained half the bottle, and then stretched out on the bed next to Parker.

"When's the pizza supposed to be delivered?"

"In about forty five minutes. What are you watching?"

"Dog show." Eliot shrugged and

Moments later, Parker looked over at Eliot, to find that his eyes had slipped closed. She elbowed him hard in the side. He groaned and stirred.

"Damn it, Parker."

"What? You said you weren't supposed to sleep."

"Next time just say my name. Don't hit me."

"Are your ribs broken?"

"No. Tank might have bruised some of them, but nothing's broken." He grimaced as he shifted positions on the bed. Then, he saw the way Parker was looking at her, and he said, "Go ahead and say it, Parker."

"Say what?"

"Whatever it is you're dying to say."

"Why didn't you tell the doctor that your ribs were bruised, and let him wrap them?"

"They're bruised, Parker. Not broken. Wrapping isn't necessary." Parker looked at him with a dubious expression on her face. With a ghost of a smile, he continued. "Besides, I can wrap them myself if they need it later." He studied her for a moment and then said, "I'm okay, Parker."

She nodded, but she still didn't look convinced.

"Why are you so worried about me, anyway?"

"You're hurt, and you took care of me when I was hurt. You deserve to have someone care for you, too. It's only fair, Sparky." Once again, Eliot made a mental note to talk to her about nicknames, and filed it away for later.

"Fair, perhaps, but not necessary. I treat others because I care about them—about you. There's no need to feel like you have to return the favor."

"Why?"

"What? His eyes were dark and guarded.

"Why do you use healing people to show them you care for them?" That wasn't the question she wanted to ask, of course, but she wasn't sure Eliot would answer the other question, as private a man as he was, and she didn't want him to think she was trying to pry into his personal business.

He grew very still and silent, and for a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer. She had just about given up when he said, "I'm a bad man, Parker. I've done some very bad things. There's no salvation for people like me. Healing people got me back to my roots, helped me start to make up for some of the bad I've done. I know it won't erase the bad. That'll never be gone. But when I was a medic—that was the last time in my life I've done anything really good—something solely to help other people. Getting back to that helped me come back to myself, or at least to find a version of me I could live with."

Parker nodded, thoughtfully, with a slightly confused look on her face. He grinned at how cute she looked with her face screwed up in thought. "What about you?"

"Huh?" she asked, looking more confused.

"I've answered a personal question for you. Why don't you answer one for me, now?"

Parker swallowed hard and nodded. Her heart was racing and her mind was chaos. She was almost sure she knew what he was going to ask her, and she'd rather do just about anything than answer.


	8. The Tap Out Job, Part 3

**A/N: Here's chapter 8. This is the last chapter for The Tap Out Job, but I have no doubt that there'll be another part of the story will be up soon.**

**Thanks to all who are reading, following, favoriting and reviewing. I feel very loved. Reviews make my day, so please let me know what you think. **

**I don't own Leverage, or any of the characters in the story, except those of my own creation. I write for fun and not for profit. **

**I hope you enjoy. Thank you.**

**Chapter 8**

Eliot's past had made him pretty adept at reading people, and right now, he saw the terror in Parker's eyes. Eliot had his own secrets, and therefore, he wasn't inclined to force her to share hers.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to tell me," Eliot said, placing one hand on each of her shoulders and turning her to face him. She shook her head.

"No. I promised. Fair is fair. Ask the question."

"Well, then I should tell you—whatever you do tell me will never leave this room."

"I know," she said, in a small voice. "Ask the question."

"What are you so afraid of?"

"I haven't shared much of my past with anyone." She turned around, and spoke with her back to him, as she paced the room. "Up until now, I haven't found anyone I could trust with the information." She turned back and looked at him. "You tell me I can," she said softly, "and I want to believe you." Eliot heard the unspoken _but, _with a meaning something like_—but if I tell you and find out I can't trust you, I'll never be able to trust anyone again. _She fell silent, and a moment later, shook her head and said, "Ask the question."

"That _is _the question," Eliot said gently. "What's your greatest fear?"

"That I'll never fit in anywhere. That the people who tell me there's something wrong with me are right, and that they'll find out just how right they are. That nobody will ever get past what makes me different long enough to see what makes me special." The power of her emotion propelled her across the room, and she ended up with her back to Eliot, looking out the window but not really seeing anything.

"Parker—I know what makes you special. You're a world class thief. You can belay off of buildings and tumble through lasers like they are nothing."

"That's what I can do, not who I am."

"That's part of what makes you special, but I'm not finished. You are very loyal to your friends. I know that because you came here tonight. You're very smart, funny, and one of the most dangerous people I know. You're also very beautiful." He looked at her appraisingly for a moment and then said, "I'm sorry, Parker. I was teasing when I said there was something wrong with you, but it was out of line. I didn't realize it would affect you the way it did, but it was still out of line. Anyone who says it is out of line—understand?"

She nodded. He cast around for something else to say, and suddenly, the mental notes he had made and saved for later came back to him.

"Why Sparky?"

"What?"

"Why did you choose Sparky as a nickname?"

"You don't know?"

Eliot shook his head and smiled, a bit sheepishly.

"You're covered in sparks. I can see it, even if no one else can. Your hair sparks when the sunlight hits it. Your eyes spark when you get angry. Your whole personality sparks most of the time. It's like you're a real life god of the sun, or else you have electric current running through your body."

"Really? That's how you see me?"

Parker nodded, smiling shyly. He smiled back. _Maybe Sparky wasn't so bad._

He leaned back on the bed and sighed deeply. He really wanted to sleep, but he couldn't. Not yet. Almost. Not quite enough time had passed. Parker's voice was fearful when she said, "Eliot?" It was then he realized that she couldn't see his face.

"Parker, I'm okay. I'm not sleeping. I can rest without sleeping."

"Good. Eliot?" He turned his head and looked at her to see her biting her lip. She had an uncertain look on her face.

"What is it, Parker? What's wrong?"

"Have you ever had nightmares?"

"A few times. Why? Are you having nightmares?"

"No, not right now. I-I don't really sleep in hotels, or anyplace really, outside of my place. I can't sleep in places I don't feel safe."

"Do you want to stay here? This room has a fold-out sofa. I'll sleep there and you can sleep on the bed. I'm still in pain, so I probably won't sleep much anyway. You came here to be sure I was all right. Let me return the favor."

"What will the others say?"

"They won't say anything. If they do, I'll explain to them that you came to be sure I was all right. They won't have anything to say to that." He looked at his watch. "Now, I'm going to bed. I suggest you do the same." He stretched out on the sofa and closed his eyes.

When he woke up, stiff and chilled, two hours later, Parker was sprawled out on the bed, sleeping soundly and snoring softly. He padded to the closet and found two blankets. He spread one of them over Parker on the bed. She turned over and curled into a ball, cocooning into the blanket, but didn't wake up. He spread the other one out on the sofa and crawled under it. As the darkness closed in on him, his last thought was that Parker felt safe with him. At least safe enough to sleep in a strange place.

That was progress, wasn't it?

(0o0)

The next morning, Hardison, Nate and Sophie were seated in the dining room, after loading the van for the return trip home. Neither Eliot nor Parker had emerged from their rooms, and it was getting late. They were both usually up very early. Nate looked up at Eliot's room, which was just up the stairs from the dining room, on a landing of which they had a good view from where they were sitting. Nate debated knocking on the door, and might, if it came time to leave and he still wasn't downstairs, but he knew Eliot wouldn't appreciate being disturbed before then. He couldn't help but worry a little, though, knowing the man's injuries.

Ten minutes later, Nate breathed a sigh of relief as the door to Eliot's room opened, and then the three exchanged glances and watched wide-eyed as Parker emerged from Eliot's room, followed by Eliot. He said something, and Parker giggled. Eliot moved down the stairs toward the others, while Parker skipped down the hall to her own room to change and get her bags ready for the trip.

"Eliot? Is there anything you'd like to share with the class?"

"No. Why?"

"If there's something going on between you and Parker, it affects the team, so we need to know."

Eliot barked a laugh. "Nothing's going on. Parker came to my room to check on me, knowing I was not supposed to sleep. She kept me company, and awake and alert until the danger passed. She fell asleep in my room, so I let her stay there." Eliot met Nate's eyes, and there was something in his gaze that challenged the other man to comment. Nate wanted to say something, but finally, he wisely decided to let it go. They stared at one another for another moment, and then Nate drummed his hands lightly on the table and signaled the waitress. Parker dragged her suitcase down the stairs and hopped over to the table. Nate smiled at her energy, and said, "Order your breakfast. When you've eaten, we'll head home."


End file.
